Patricia Lorraine Howie

Mrs. Patricia (Pat) Lorraine Howie( nee Alexander) died at Kamloops at Marjorie Willoughby Hospice House on October 18th 2015 aged 61 years. She is survived and sadly missed by her loving husband James (Jim) Howie and her two sons Charles, and Mathew. She leaves a sister Janet Graham (husband Rob) of London Ontario and niece Holly. She leaves a very dear cousin Marilyn, and her daughter Nicky of Georgia USA. She leaves her cousin David and wife Kate of Norwich England. She will also be missed by numerous friends she has made throughout the years. She is predeceased by her father, Thomas Alexander and her mother, Marjorie Alexander. Pat was born and brought up in London and Byron, Ontario where she attended school and completed High School. She still is friends with childhood playmates from her days in Byron and her very special friend the Reverend George Morris her minister when she was growing up. She attended Nursing School ate the St Thomas Hospital and there she met another lifelong friend Sharon Sevilla whom she felt was like a sister to her. Finishing Nursing School, Pat became adventurous and applied for work with the United Church Hospital system and moved to Hazelton BC in 1975, where she began a career working in different hospitals throughout the northern part of BC. She, in 1977 went back to obtain her BSN from the University of Victoria and there met other of her friends, Bonnie Low She returned to the United Church hospitals in 1979 working in Hazelton and Bella Coola and Bella Bella. While she was working in Hazelton, she met Jim who was doing an elective rotation of his medical school training. Over the ensuing two years a long distance relationship with Jim developed with her working in northern BC and then going to work for the Grenfell Mission in Labrador and then to Edmonton and Calgary to work. While both were working in Calgary, Jim and Pat were married in 1982. After Jim finished his medical training in Calgary, they moved to Kamloops in 1983, where Pat worked at Royal Inland Hospital. Charles was born in 1984 and Mathew was born in 1986. Pat worked part time after the children were born in different parts of the Health system up to about 1997, when her adventurous spirit showed again. She went to train as a Nurse Practitioner and over the next years worked in Outposts throughout Northern BC and the Yukon and the North West Territories until her health made her stop in 2005. Since stopping working, she devoted her time to helping others and becoming more involved in her Church. Her last 5 years were trying and difficult for her and it was only in the past three months that she could not stay active and was hospitalized and eventually was in the Hospice. Pats three boys as she called them, want to thank her friend Marilyn Kennedy and Stella and the other ladies of Summit Baptist Church for all the fantastic support to Pat and the family through the last three months in Hospital and Hospice. A big thank you to all the staff at Marjorie Willoughby for all the help to us and for Pat through a very difficult time and thanks to Jim’s past medical practice partner and friend and physician to Pat, Stan Fike. A Celebration of Life will be held on October 31st, 2015 at 1:00 pm at Summit Baptist Church with Pastor Harry Bicknell officiating. Should friends desire, donations can be made to the Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Hospice House or to the Foster Plan of Canada or any other charity in Pat’s name.